Machine for sewing knitted fabrics



3 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. BENNOR.

Patented Apr. '7, 1896.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. BENNOR. MACHINE FOR SEWING KNITTED FABRIGS. No. 557,687. Patented Apr. 7, 1896.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

' J. BENNOR.

MACHINE FOR SBWINGKNITTED FABRICS.

No. 557,637. Patented Apr. 7, 1896.

GOLD 105s as:

W 50 \a 5L 55L I igi% es UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH BENNOR, OF MACON, GEORGIA.

MACHINE FOR SEWING KNITTED FABRICS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 557,637, dated April '7, 1896.

Application filed March 26, 1894.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH BENNOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Macon, in the county of Bibb and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Uniting Knit Fabrics, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to machines for uniting looped fabrics, and more particularly to that class wherein an intermittently-rotatable circular series of impaling-points is employed in conjunction with a reciprocating thread-carrying needle and a coacting looper device. Machines of this class are used for the purpose, among others, of connecting the usual ribbed tops to socks.

The object of my invention is to improve the construction and operation of the said machines by the provision, first, of novel means for detachably supporting the pointbearing cylinder; secondly, of means for intermittently actuating said support, and, thirdly, of means for maintaining the knitted webs in close contact, and upon the points during the looping operation, all of which will be hereinafter fully set forth and be definitely claimed.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of a machine embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a view of the under side thereof. Fig. 3 is a section as on the line x wot Fig. 1. Fig. 4c is a section as on the line 3 y of Fig. 1. Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are details hereinafter referred to.

The numeral 1 denotes the bed of the machine, the same being supported ordinarily upon a suitable pedestal. (Not shown.) In this bed is formed a circular opening 2, the edge of which is provided with an annular flange or seat 3 to receive and support the flanged periphery of an annulus t. 'The upper face of this annulus is preferably flush with the top of the bed, and it (the annulus) is rotatably maintained in place by means of heads 5, that are, in this instance, detachably secured to the bed by means of screws 6. The annulus is provided on its under side with a flange 7, in which are formed ratchet-teeth 8, with which coacts a pawl 9, that is supported Serial No. 505,084. (No model.)

and reciprocated by means of devices hereinafter described, for the purpose of imparting a step-by-step movement to the annulus and its adjuncts.

Around the inner edge of the annulus is a flange 10, upon which is supported the exteriorly-flanged lower end of ahollow cylinder 11. Surrounding the top of this cylinder is a series of impaling-points 12, the function of which is to receive the marginal loops of the fabrics to be united in the usual manner. These points are affixed to a ring 11, that is secured to the top of the cylinder by means of screws or the like. The lower edge of the ring, to which the butts of the points are attached, is beveled and it is fitted to a correspondingly-beveled groove around the..edge of the cylinder, thereby effectually preventing all liability of lateral displacement of the ring. By this construction I am enabled to bevel the top and inner edge of the ring in advance of the impaling-points, as at w, so that the web as it depends in the cylinder will tend to draw the marginal loops toward the butts of the points. Heretofore such butts have been applied horizontally to the ring, thus necessitating the making of the top of the ring horizontal, and in consequence the webs, instead of drawing the loops downward, tended to draw them horizontally or at right angles to the vertical points.

Pivoted upon the bed, in proximity to the flange of the cylinder, are latches 13, that may be turned to engage said flange to prevent vertical displacement of the cylinder or again be turned reversely to free the cylinder and permit the latters being readily removed from the machine. The cylinder thus being attachable to and detachable from the machine, it may be readily removed and another similar cylinder be as readily substituted therefor at the will of the operator. At a suitable point in the edge of the flange of the cylinder is aV-shaped notch 14, that is adapted to register with a corresponding projection 15 on a block 16, that is let into and secured to the annulus. The projection is so arranged thatit serves as a guide to insure the proper disposition of the cylinder upon said bed 2'. 6., to bring the impaling-points into accurate register with the thread-needle 17 hereinafter described. This being done the cylthe ratchet-teeth or both.

inder is held fixedly in that position. The registering parts of the flange and the block are made V-shaped, so that any lost motion therein occasioned by wear may be readily taken up by adjusting the block radially in reference to the cylinder. The block is fastened to the bed by means of a set-screw 18, which extends through a slot 19 in the latter. Thus byproperly manipulating the screw the block may be readily freed and set at the desired point of adjustment.

Rising from a bracket 20 on the bed-plate are posts 21, in which the driving-shaft 22 is borne. On this shaft is fixed an eccentric 23, which is embraced by the yoke-shaped arm 24 of a vertically-disposed lever, the latter being fulcrumed on a lower shaft 25 supported by-and between the posts. :Thus during the rotation of the driving-shaft the 'eccentric positively vibrates the lever with which it: is connected. 'The lower arm .26 of the leverdepends' through an orifice 27 in the bed-plateand supports and-actuates the pawl 9 hereinbefore referred to. The pivotal connection of the pawl with the lever-arm is adjustable, so that said arm maybe setto compensate for the wear of the-pawl-tooth or of In thisinstance the connection is had by extending the pivotpin 28 Y through an eccentric 29 adj-ustably fixed in the'pawl-arm. It will be'seen that by properly turning the eccentric the pawltooth will be correspondingly retracted or projected, as the case may be. The eccentrio isthen fixed in its positions of adjustment by means of a set-screw 30 working in the pawl. A'notch 31 in one end of the cocentric enables it to be: readily adjusted by means of a screw-driver or like tool.

The pawletooth is maintained yieldingly in engagement with the ratchet-teeth by the action of a spiral spring 32, that is fitted to a socket in the lever-arm 26 in a manner to bear upon the rearward extension of the pawlarm, as seen in Fig.4. This tooth is formed separately from the pawl-arm and it is so applied thereto that the former will turn slightly to accommodate itself to the varying adj ustments of the arm and thus properly engage the ratchet-teeth. To this end the toothis providedwitha stud 33, that isfitted to an orifice in said arm, and is maintained therein by a set-screw 34:, the end of which entersan enlarged socket 35 in the stud. There is provideda stop-pawl 36 that normally engages the ratchet-teeth to prevent backward movement thereof. This pawl: is pivotedat 0c wto a bracket 37 on-the under side of the baseplate in proximity to the pawl-above described. The free end of the -stop-pawl extends outwardly beyond the base-plate in convenient position for theattendant to move it out of action as occasionmay require.

- Extending from the forWar-dend of thepawlarm9 is a pin 38, that takes against the underside of the stop-pawl, so that when the latter is manipulated as just mentioned both pawls will be disengaged from the ratchetteeth. In that case the annulus may be readily turned either way by the attendant, in order to move the point-bearing cylinder to any desired point relative to the thread-needle. Said annulus is provided with a depending handle 39 to facilitate this operation.

In practice the annulus, and perforce the point-bearing cylinder, are rotated slightly more than a revolution to effect the overlapping of the ends of the connecting-seam of the two fabrics being united, and in consequence it is necessary, preparatory to a repetition of the operation, to return the annulus to the starting-point. Hence the provision of the means for throwing thepawls out of action. I preferably score or otherwise mark the annulus and tho bed at proper points .to indicate the relativepositions ofthese parts.

17 denotes the thread-needle that is reciprocated in reference to the successively-advancing. impaling points on the oylindeiyand 41 denotes arotary looper of usual construction that coacts with said needle to eifect the sewing together of the fabrics to be; joined.

So far as the particular-actions of the needle and the looper upon the thread-and the knitted webs are concerned, it is unnecessary to describe themherein, as they-are well known. The needle is secured to the free endof the forwardlyrprojecting arm 42 of .a bell-crank lever that isfulcrumed on ashaft 43. .On the free end of the shorter arm 14 of this lever is pivoted a block-45, that is fittedto an eccentric groove 46 on the face of the disk 47 onthe main shaft, whereby the said. disk in its rotation will reciprocate the crank-lever and therewiththe needle, the action being positive and in concert with the intermittent rotation of the point-cylinder. (-See Fig. 5.)

The looper l is fixed on the end of a transversely-disposed shaft48, that is mounted in a suitable bearing 49, bolted to a lateral extension 50 of one of the bracket-posts. On this shaft is a bevel-gear 51, with which engages a similargear 52 on the main shaft, whereby the shaft 48 and therewith the looper are revolved.

As a simpleand efficient means to maintain the two-webs in contactand upon the impaling-points during the seaming operation, I provide the following construction: 53 marks an arm that is fitted to atransverse groove in the extension 50, so as to extend forwardly beyond the latter. Thearmis fastened to the extension by means of a set-screw 54, the hole 55 for which in thexarm is elongated to permit longitudinal adjustment of said arm for a purpose:hereinafter appearing. The forward end of the arm is provided with apair of ears, betweenwhich is-pivoteda block 56 of peculiar construction-tl1at is to say, the block is formed with a depending portion 57, an rip-projecting portion 58,-.and a rear wardlyprojecting portion 59 that abuts against the arm. Secured to an upper projection on the rear portion of the arm 53 is one end of a fiat spring 59, the free end of which extends over and bears upon the block. WVhen this block occupies the vertical position represented in Fig. 3, the spring bears upon the portion 58 and acts to maintain the block in that position. \Vhen, however, the block is thrown forward in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, the spring acts upon the then opposed face y of the block to maintain the latter in the horizontal position.

Fitted to a groove in the portion 57 of the block is a plate 60, which is held in place by means of a set-screw 61, the hole 62 for which in the plate is elongated to permit vertical adjustment of said plate. Depending from this plate is a pair of arms 63, on which is supported a segment 64 provided on its upper edge with a lip 65. When the block occupies the vertical position, the segment lies adjacent to the inner faces of the points, the lower edge of the segment thus holding the two webs together at the base of the points and insuring the close union of their respective marginal loops by the stitches. The lip (35 projects over the extremities of the points, so as to guard against any liability of the said loops or the stitch-loops being drawn upward over the points by the uprising needle. (See Figs. 3, 6, and 7.)

It will be seen that by adjusting the arm 53 horizontally, as above described, the face of the segment may be nicely set in respect to the points and that by adjusting the plate vertically the lower edge of the segment may be accurately disposed in respect to the top of the cylinder, the various adjustments being determined by the combined thicknesses of the fabrics to be united.

- Preparatory to removing the cylinder from the machine upon the completion of the seam ing operation the pivoted block and therewith the web-holding segment are turned upward. Said block is provided with a suit able handle 2, whereby it may be readily manipulated.

The shipper device 66, for transferring the belt from the fast to the loose pulley on the driving-shaft and conversely, is secured to a sliding bar 67, supported in a bracket 68, rising from the bed-plate. This bracket is provided with a longitudinal slot 69 therein, through which extends from the slide-bar a handle 69, whereby the shipper-frame may be moved from one pulley to the other. A notch or offset 7 O is formed in the upper edge of that end of the slot occupied by the handle when the shipper is adjacent to the fast pulley, (see Fig. 8,) so that when the handle is moved to that end of the slot and released the weight of the shipper-frame, turning the slide-bar slightly, interlocks the handle with the notch and thus prevents all liability of the accidental transferrence of the belt from the fast to the loose pulley.

I claim as my invention 1. In amachine for uniting knit fabrics, the combination of arotatable support, an impaling-point-carrying cylinder thereon provided with a V-shaped notch, a block or head adjustably secured on said support and provided with a V-shaped projection adapted to enter said notch, and means for adjustably securing said block or head on said support, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for uniting knit fabrics, the combination of a rotatable support provided with ratchet-teeth thereon, an impaling-p ointcarrying cylinder, a vibratory lever, means for actuating the same, a pawl adapted to coact with said ratchet-wheel, and connected by means of a pin and eccentric with the said lever, substantially as described.

3. In a machine for uniting knit fabrics, the combination of a rotatable support provided with ratchet-teeth thereon, an impaling-pointcarrying cylinder on said support, avibratory lever, means for actuating the same, a pawl adj ustably connected with said lever and adapted to coact with said ratchet-teeth, the tooth of said pawl being freely movable independently of its supporting-arm whereby said tooth will turn automatically to accommodate itself to the varying adjustments of the arm and thus properly engage the ratchet-teeth, substantially as described.

4:. In a machine for uniting knit fabrics, the combination of a rotatable support provided with ratche t-teeth thereon, an impaling-pointcarrying cylinder on said support, a reciprocative pawl coacting with said ratchet-teeth to move the support step by step, means for supporting and reciprocating said pawl, and a stop-pawl lever engaged with said ratchet teeth, one arm of the lever being operatively connected with the first-named pawl, to the end that when the other or free arm of the lever is manipulated both pawls are simultaneously moved out of action, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for uniting knit fabrics, the combination, with the cylinder provided with the circular series of vertical impaling-points, means for supporting and actuating said cylinder, the thread-needle constructed to coact with the outer sides of the impaling-points, means for supporting and operating said needle, the looper and its actuating mechanism of a web-holdin g plate or shoe supported in proximity to the inner sides of the impaling-points in a manner to maintain the two webs in contact and at the base of the impaling-points during the seaming operation, an arm with which the said shoe is pivotally connected, a spring, and means acted upon thereby to maintain said shoe in active and inactive position, as desired, substantially as described.

6. In a machine for uniting knit fabrics, the combination, with the cylinder provided with the circular series of vertical impaling-points, means for supporting and actuating said cylinder, the thread-needle constructed to coact with the outer sides of the impaling-points, means for supporting and operating said needle, the looper and its actuating mechanism of an adjustable arm, a support therefor, a block pivoted to said arm, a spring acting uponsaidblock, so vas=t0 maintain it and its connections in active and idle position, as desired, and a Web-holding ;plate or shoe adjustably connected with said block, andsnpported in proximity-totheinner sides of the impaling-points imamannerto maintain the two Webs in contact and at'the base of the impaling-points during the seaming opera- 1o 

